Obviously, the first thing you're going to do is comparing your Falcon to your mouse. While you're going to do that keep one thing in your mind: You most probably have been using your mouse for a considerably long time, and by now it is more like an extension of your hand rather than a computer input device. Your brain is already wired for using a mouse, which means that while you are using a mouse, you don't need to think about what motor action you need to do with your hand to do what you want to do on the computer screen. In other words, using a mouse has essentially become a motor reflex, and you have perfect hand-eye coordination while using a mouse. Before you can use your Falcon as well as your mouse, you'll need to go through motor-learning once again. This may indeed be harder than learning how to use a mouse for the first time, not because a Falcon is harder to use, but because there is going to be some level of negative interference coming from knowing how to use a mouse. Therefore, give your Falcon, and yourself, a chance by using it for a (long?) while before setting it aside to collect dust (or throwing it away, or selling it on eBay, or converting it to a plant pot, or whatever else you choose to do to it); it’s only fair.
It is easy to see that the size of Falcon is huge compared to a mouse. Yet, you should remember that when you're using a mouse, you're probably using it on a mouse pad which takes up considerable space on your desktop, particularly if you are using it in a landscape position (I use mine in portrait, so it takes a little less than that). When you compare the footprint of a standard-sized mouse pad (used in landscape) to the footprint of Falcon, you'll see that the latter is only slightly larger than the former. Therefore, you shouldn't have much trouble finding space for your Falcon, unless your desk space is severely cramped.
When you place your Falcon onto your desk, it will not take you long before you realize the ergonomics nightmare that you're about to go through. All computer desks are designed for a keyboard and mouse combo, which are used on the same plane, whereas the default center position of the ball-handle of a Falcon is raised. I tried raising my chair to level my arm with the handle of the Falcon, but as you can guess, this was uncomfortable for using the keyboard, or resting your feet comfortably on the floor. If you try only raising the right armrest of the chair (assuming that you're using your Falcon with your right hand), then your right shoulder will end up in an awkward and uncomfortable position. It seems like the only possible solution is to design and build a keyboard/Falcon tray as seen in the picture below.
However, think twice before converting your desk space, since it is unlikely that you will be replacing your Falcon with your mouse for good. Considering this, a convertible solution (i.e., the height of the right side of your keyboard/mouse tray can be adjusted to be moved down to place the Falcon on, or kept level with the keyboard to place your mouse on) would be a much better choice. And if you're such a crafty person who can design and produce such a desk tray, please contact me, so that, I can place an order :). I don't know if it would be viable to do so, but I suggest that Novint should design and sell such a solution, just like the companies which make force feedback wheels also sell mounts for them (see this link for an example).
The other problem with Falcon’s ergonomics is the size and shape of its default handle: A small sphere. Seems like there simply isn't a comfortable holding position for this grip. Extended use does not look promising, but it may also just be an issue of adapting to this new way of keeping/using my hand. Moreover, the placement of the buttons isn't the best. All the buttons are placed on top of the ball. Unlike a mouse where you can use two of your fingers to trigger two different buttons, on the default ball grip of Falcon, you can only use one of your fingers (most likely your thumb) to trigger all four buttons. Besides the speed concerns (in this way, it's slower to use a Falcon, compared to a mouse), current placement of the buttons poses another problem: What are you going to do when you need to press two of the buttons at the same time (as in the Arcade roller game provided in NMB)? If you have fat fingers like I do, you may be able to press the center button and tilt your finger left or right to do a double press, assuming that one of the buttons that you need to press is the center button. But if your fingers are small and slim (like my wife’s), or the center button is not one of the two buttons that you need to press simultaneously, then there is no way you can press two buttons at the same time. I think it would have been better if they placed one of the buttons at the bottom left, where the tip of your index finger would be while you're holding this small sphere.
Having a handle that fits the shape of your hand better and hangs lower than the center position of the Falcon, I'm hoping that the recently released pistol grip will provide a much more ergonomic solution (which is going to set you an additional $20+SH back), circumventing all of the problems associated with the default ball grip.
If you haven't tried Falcon in a retail store before purchasing it, after installation, most likely the first thing you're going to do will be going through the tutorial in N VeNT, and experiencing your first WOW moment. After this, instead of trying the standalone games listed in the main menu of N VeNT, I recommend launching Newton’s Monkey Business (NMB), and trying the games in there. Unfortunately, you can only try six games at a time, and none of the games is a looker, but bear with them, and you’ll have experienced many of the force effects Falcon can simulate. Indeed, NMB games are more of a tech-demo collection for Falcon rather than real games I would say (at least for an adult, kids may be another story). Without spoiling too much, besides the force feedback effects Falcon can pull-off, you will also experience creative and clever uses of these forces, such as forming a springy-controller during racing games.
I will write about the games played with a Falcon in the upcoming episode of my review. But I want to mention three common things that I realized when I was playing FPSs. The first one was that, although I've been playing FPSs with a mouse for a long while, looks like I'm getting a little motion sick when I play them with my Falcon. I'm guessing that the reason is how you turn in the game by using your Falcon, which is more like a joystick rather than a mouse. While you are using your mouse to turn, it is a fast movement (at least that's how I adjust the sensitivity of my mouse when I'm playing). While you're turning with your Falcon, when you reach the end of Falcon’s movement space, if you keep the Falcon at that position, you will keep turning in that direction. The difference compared to a mouse, and the problem, was that, until you get used to pushing the Falcon even further in that direction to speed up your turning, your turn will take some time creating a constant motion on your screen in one direction. I think this was what made me motion sick. I'm hoping that I will get used to turning faster with my Falcon, and this will get rid of my motion sickness problem. The second thing common to all FPSs is that, after some playtime I found out that I was right about the default ball-grip’s uncomfortable position. If you use the default grip, upon extended use (that is several hours), you will most likely end up with a wrist pain; like I did. I'm looking forward to receiving my pistol grip which is on its way to me as I write this. As I wrote above, hopefully, this much more ergonomic grip will circumvent this problem. The third thing is that, so far, my experience is such that the precision of Falcon cannot match a mouse’s. If you're trying to aim a target which is far (i.e., it’s very small), you may have problems acquiring the aim you're seeking. Although I can use my mouse (which, by the way, I use mostly at 800 dpi, despite the fact that it has 2000 dpi maximum resolution) with a deadly accuracy, aiming with a Falcon, even in the absence of any force-feedback, didn't have the pinpoint accuracy of the mouse. Obviously, the problem may not be the Falcon per se, but my lack of experience using it. Unfortunately, there is no way of knowing the real answer right now, before many more hours of game play and practice with my Falcon.
After reading so far, you may be thinking that I find Falcon very problematic and I didn't like it at all. Yet, this can't be further than the truth. As I stated at the very beginning, being used to using a mouse for so many years, I don't think that the first time you use your Falcon is expected to be a smooth ride. Therefore, I wrote about my experience as it was, thinking that you’ll probably go through a similar experience, and wanted give you a heads up about what to expect. As I stated above several times, some of the “problems” that I stated above may simply be the results of my inexperience in using a Falcon, and they may go away once I master its use. Also keep in mind that Novint takes user-feedback very seriously, and they improve Falcon every passing day both as hardware (more grips, cosmetic changes, etc.) and software (more supported games, better drivers, etc.), and as a result, one should expect that the Falcon experience will only get better in time. In addition, I don't believe that there is anything perfect in life, and obviously this also applies to gaming peripherals. A Falcon may be slightly larger, less accurate, and more straining to your hand with its default grip than a mouse, but in my opinion, it's force feedback and touch features combined with its ability to move in real three dimensional space easily cancels out these disadvantages, if not overweighs them. Ultimately, all we gamers always look for ways to feel more "there" when we're playing a game, and Falcon is certainly one step ahead of your trusty mouse in making that happen.
Check back for the next episode of my Falcon review: More hands-on time and games with Falcon.
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